236 JUMPING. 



to get the generality of young ones to learn the free and 

 " flippant " method which will enable them to go from 

 one field into another without any fear of their dropping 

 their hind legs into a ditch on the far side, or catching 

 their feet against a guard rail, or perchance a wire. To 

 acquire this essentially Leicestershire style, to which I 

 shall chiefly devote my attention, a horse must learn 

 to lift himself well off the ground and spread himself out. 

 I in no way wish to deny that a horse can be taught to 

 adapt his style to the nature of the fence ; but such a 

 degree of excellence is difficult to attain, and the attempt 

 to reach it may end by spoiling the animal for both kinds 

 of work. Lest any of my readers may misunderstand 

 my meaning in this connection, I may explain that the 

 one style of jumping to which I refer is that practised 

 in the Shires and on our steeplechase courses ; the other, 

 in Galway for getting over big stone walls, and in Australia 

 for clearing very high posts and rails. In the former, 

 the animal always covers a considerable width and can 

 also jump fairly high when required. In the latter, if 

 the horse jumps high, he will cover but little ground. At 

 horse-jumping competitions in England, such as those at 

 Islington, several very high timber jumpers will show 

 ability to clear water of good width ; but if asked to jump 

 a four-foot hedge, they would not, unless greatly stimu- 

 lated, leave much margin on the other side. In both 

 styles, the respective horses should, of course, learn to 

 regulate their pace and measure their distance, according 

 to the nature of the fence. 



I might suggest the following obstacles over which to 

 practise the beginner : 



1. A hurdle (commencing at 2-J- feet, and ending at 

 3^ feet) bushed with gorse. 



2. A hurdle similar to No. i, with, in front of it, a 



